Beauty Influencer Laura Lee Talks Summer 2017 Beauty Trends and MAC Cosmetics
April 14, 2017 – 1:56 PM – 0 Comments
By Sam Coley Parade @samlcoley
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(Laura Lee)
YouTuber Laura Lee felt like she was in her "own little world" when she started her beauty channel four years ago.
"I was like, 'This is everything—I have people who want to talk about makeup with me.' I had no one before," Lee says. "It was like the doors of heaven opened up for me."
The Southern belle turned L.A. beauty guru now has over two million subscribers who watch her test out the latest products from top beauty brands and demonstrate the newest makeup techniques.
Lee is one of 10 beauty bloggers from around the world spotlighted in MAC Cosmetics' new influencer-inspired lipstick collection. Her shade, LARLARLEE, will be out April 20.
Parade chatted with Lee about working with a beloved beauty brand, what it's like to be in the tight-knit YouTube community and the Instagram makeup trend that just won't die.
YouTuber Laura Lee created her own lipstick shade with MAC Cosmetics, called LARLARLEE, out April 20. (MAC Cosmetics)
Why did you decide to collaborate with MAC Cosmetics?
I've always worn MAC makeup. When I was in high school in Alabama, we didn't have a Sephora or Ulta. There was only the MAC counter. I always had an obsession with makeup, and I've always been a MAC girl. I just kept using them throughout my career, even now that I have so many makeup options. They're such a cool brand and they've been around a long time in the pro artist world. MAC asked me to collab with them, which of course, was a really surreal moment. That email was the most shocking email I ever got. It's like a dream come true. It's even cooler that they flew us to Toronto to their labs to create the lipsticks from scratch. It was a true creation of ours.
Why did you create that particular shade of lipstick?
I chose that specific shade because I have such a hard time finding the shade that I made. Typically, I will mix two or three nude-pink colors together to get the shade that I created. I made a shade that I wear every day and that's so easy to wear.
Why did you want to start a beauty-focused YouTube channel?
I started my YouTube channel a little over four years ago when I was living in Alabama. No one in Alabama watched YouTube, much less had a channel or beauty Instagram. I got on YouTube and after I uploaded my first video, I think it got 12 views in the first day. After a week or so, it was like 100 views and had 10 comments. Four years ago, YouTube was not what it is today. People were not making a career out of it. People were doing it for fun, and that's why I got on. I just became so passionate about it that it really worked out for me in a career aspect.
What is your favorite type of video to film?
I started to fall in love with filming my first impression videos because I can be really honest with my viewers. [It used to be that] if I didn't like something, I wouldn't talk about it. Then, as my channel grew, I started to become more vocal. I always wanted to please the brands and never hurt anyone's feelings. But, I put myself in my followers' shoes, and I was like, 'Wow, it would be really nice for someone to just say if it's not good.' You don't have to be mean about it. I think that now that my audience knows me and knows I'm going to tell the truth, it's fun to be myself and be honest with them about products
You and many other beauty influencers just went on a trip to Necker Island with Benefit Cosmetics. What is it like to be part of such a tight-knit community of beauty YouTubers?
It's a blessing. Jeffree [Star] is one of the fastest growing beauty bloggers. Then there's Manny MUA [Manny Gutierrez], the boy that began with Maybelline, and then Gabe [Gabriel Zamora] who started with Ipsy. We all have different numbers, we all have different paths, but there's one thing we all have in common—very strong personalities. No one is reserved, we're very loud people. I'm surprised we all get along. I think we're such a tight-knit group because no one overpowers anyone.
What are your go-to products that you use every day?
I have been using the Tarte Shape Tape concealer—it's so good. I use my Benefit Precisely, My Brow Pencil for my brows just about every day. I use my MAC Paint Pot in Soft Ochre to carve out my brows. I've been probably using that product for eight or nine years, if not more, as my primer base. As far as my foundations and eyeshadows, I switch those out all the time. And of course, my MAC lipstick.
What beauty trends do you think will be big for summer?
I think people are doing just lashes and a bold lip—not having any eyeshadow, just letting the lip be the makeup. I always am curious how far that's going to go because people do have to go to professional jobs, and they're not going to wear the green lipstick. Those trends kind of get capped because of that, but I think at fun events, you'll see more colorful lips.
I was wondering if highlighters were going to be this big as they were last year, but I think they're even 10 times bigger this year. In all the Instagram pictures, everybody's cheeks look like a light bulb—including mine! It's just a big trend right now.
What is one product that instantly makes you feel glam?
I would have to say glitter. I have been using glitter for a long time, and if I'm having a bad eyeshadow day—we all in the beauty community have a saying, 'Just put some glitter on top of it, they'll never know.' I love glitter. I'll put glitter on top of my highlight, lipstick and all over my eyelids.
What products are must-haves, even for women who don't have a ton of time to do a full face of makeup?
I would say a nice, full-coverage concealer, and a good mascara. I feel like your lashes can make your eyes pop and pull a look together.
What do you have coming up that you can share with readers?
I'm trying to think if there's anything I'm allowed to tell you! I'm working on a ton of stuff for 2018. I can tell you I don't have any more collabs planned for 2017. I'm working on my vlog channel, my second channel (LauraLeeVlogs). I'm going to start implementing more comedy on that because I've always been a true, die-hard lover of comedy. I'm going to be working on boosting that channel this year.
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